Good morning everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend and a Merry Christmas (if you celebrated the holiday).  Since 2020 is almost over (thank goodness!), let’s review My Wildly Ambitious 2020 Airline, Hotel & Credit Card Predictions.  To be honest, I totally forgot that I wrote this post and I haven’t looked at it since it was published on December 30, 2019.  Here is what I wrote last year for my predictions and my thoughts on each prediction (correct in green and wrong in red):

My 2020 Airline Predictions

• Alaska, American, Delta, or United will introduce a “Cash and Miles” payment option for award tickets. Clarification: This is not to be confused with Delta’s “Pay with Points” option where you get 1 CPP for each Delta SkyMiles for paid flights. I’m thinking more along the lines of the way British Airways and Avianca do it for award tickets.  No?  I haven’t booked any airline tickets in 9+ months, but I don’t think this prediction came true.
• Allegiant Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and Sun Country will announce a merger, but I’m not sure who will merge with who.  No, there were no airline mergers in 2020 among these airlines, but I expect to see some mergers of domestic and international airlines next year.

My 2020 Hotel Predictions

• Marriott will not charge resort fees on award stays.  No, I think Marriott still charges resort fees on award stays.
• Marriott Free Night Certificates will be tied to a category, not the 35K or 50K points price.  No, this was wishful thinking.
• IHG or Hyatt will transition their Free Night Certificates to a Free Weekend Night Certificate with no cap (similar to the Hilton Free Weekend Night Certificates).  No, IHG and Hyatt Free Night Certificates still have category caps.
• Radisson Rewards will bring back the “Last Night Free” benefit for award reservations.  No, this was wishful thinking.
• The Radisson Rewards Free Night Certificates for spending $10K, $20K, and $30K will be valid at international properties, not just domestic hotels.  No, another wishful thinking idea to make Radisson better.
• Best Western, Choice, and Accor will announce a merger, but I’m not sure who will merge with who.  Yes, sort of.  There is a rumor that IHG and Accor could merge in the near future (Skift).

My 2020 Credit Card Predictions

• The Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card has lost a lot of ground / wallet share, so I expect to see new features added. Maybe 4x on travel and dining, to compete with the American Express Gold Card.  Yes, sort of.  Chase added the Pay Yourself Back feature that makes your Chase Ultimate Rewards Points worth 1.5 CPP.  Unfortunately, Chase did not increase bonus categories on the CSR, but they did introduce bonus categories on the new Chase Freedom Flex Credit Card.
• Chase or American Express will introduce a credit card to complete with the Citi Rewards+ Credit Card (round up points earned to the nearest 10 points and provide a 10% rebate on redeemed points).  No, Chase and American Express did not introduce a new CC that provides rounding up points or a 10% rebate.  The new Barclays Wyndham Earner Business Credit Card does provide a 10% rebate on redeemed points.
• Citi ThankYou Points will be transferable to travel partners without needing to have a Citi Premier Credit Card or Citi Prestige Credit Card.  No, you still need a premium Citi ThankYou Point earning CC to transfer TYPs to travel partners.  I think you can transfer TYPs to Sears Shop Your Way without a premium CC.
• Citi ThankYou Points will be transferable to American Airlines. No, this was wishful thinking (but I still think it will happen one day).
• Bank of America or Discover will introduce a credit card that offers transferable points to compete with American Express, Chase, Citi, and Capital One.  No, I don’t think Bank of America or Discover have any CCs that transfer points to travel partners.
• American Express will remove the 5 credit card limit and have no hard limit.  No, American Express made it harder now with their 4 credit card limit and 10 charge card limit (Doctor of Credit).
• A new credit card that offers top tier hotel elite status just for having the credit card, similar to the American Express Hilton Honors Aspire Credit Card. Maybe we will see a Chase Hyatt Globalist Credit Card or an American Express Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Credit Card.  Yes, the new Barclays Wyndham Earner Business Credit Card does provide Wyndham Diamond Elite Status for cardholders.  There is also a rumor about a high end Marriott Bonvoy CC that may come with Platinum Elite Status (Doctor of Credit).

And the final tally is…  3 correct predictions and 12 wrong predictions.  This is actually a pretty good score for me since I usually get most of my predictions wrong.  If you see any mistakes in any of my prediction results, please let me know so I can update this post.  Stay tuned for some wild 2021 travel predictions soon.  Have a great day everyone!